Holding device



H. W. TUCKER HOLDING DEVICE Dec. 5, 1939. I

Filed April 18, 1936 Suvcntor Patented Dec. 5, 1939 UNITED STATES rArsNT oFFiCE Application April 18,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to holding devices and isparticularly adapted to holding of articles made of sheet material, such for instance, as match books.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved holding device Which Will be simple in construction.

Another object is to provide an improved holding device which will firmly retain articles.

Another object is to provide an improved holding device which Will be attractive in appearance.

Another object is to provide an improved holding device which will attractively display articles held thereby.

Another object is to provide an improved holding device which will permit the observation of the major part of the surfaces of the articles retained by it without removal therefrom.

Another object is to provide an improved holding device which will maintain articles in compact arrangement.

Another object is to provide an improved holding device which Will firmly retain articles Without the use of adhesive or the like.

Another object is to provide an improved holding device in which inflammable objects will be retained and by Which they Will be protected from accidental ignition.

Another object is to provide improved means for mounting articles, in Which they can be readily inserted, and from which they may be readily removed, Without mutilation or dei'acement.

Another object is to provide an improved hold- 35 ing device which will effectively hold articles and compensate for variations in size.

The invention will be better understood from the description of one practical embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of the invention applied to the pages of an album, such as may be used by collectors of, paper match books;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a page of the albumin Figure l showing the manner in which the match books may be inserted therein; 1

Figures 3 and 4 are enlarged cross-sectional views taken on the lines III- III and IV-IV, respectively, of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a perspective View showing a manner in which a match book cover which has been previously separated may be secured in place.

The collecting of paper match books and similar covers is becoming a rather popular pas- 1936, Serial No. 75,203

(Cl. 20G- 79) time and hobby. These paper match books, due

to the fact that they are printed on both flaps, that they are of substantial thickness, and that they sometimes have printed matter on the inside as Well as the front and back flaps which is of interest to the collector, present a slightly different problem from the standpoint of their arrangement and mounting than do stamps and other small articles of which only one side need be exposed.

For this reason, although many are in use, albums having continuous pages to which the books or covers must be secured by adhesive impair the attractiveness of a collection. Also, albums have been used in which the collector must remove the staple ordinarily holding the lower end of the match book together, take out the matches and stubs, and flatten the cover. This, of course, prevents display of special types of, matches, a number of which have appeared, having attractive and distinctive designs formed on the matches themselves.

Another problem in arranging such collections is that, if the matches are retained Within the covers, these must be so arranged that the heads of the matches will not contact the pyrophoric material on other covers, causing accidental ignition of the matches.

The present invention has among its objects the obviation of these disadvantages.

As shown in Figure 1, the invention is embodied in various pages of an alb-um having covers l and 2 and pages 3, fil, 5, and the covers and pages being secured together by a binding string l or the like passed through perforations 8 adjacent one margin thereof, these parts being assembled in any desired manner, and shown as more or less after the fashion of the conventional photograph album.

It will be understood that the arrangement of the covers and means for binding them to the pages illustrated constitute no part of the present invention, but are merely illustrated to complete one form of embodiment thereof, while the invention itself need not be incorporated in the pages of a book at all, but is applicable to single sheets, cards, advertising display signs, or many other types of articles.

Each of the pages illustrated is provided With a series of slots, slits, and apertures as most clearly illustrated in Figure 2, there being one slot, one slit, and one aperture arranged to be associated with each of the articles to be displayed or retained.

Each group includes a lower substantially horiils zonen straight not 9 of substantial width, in

practice, in the order of lgth of an inch, and an upper curved slit I having a downwardly curvging top or central portion and much more acutely downwardly curved end portions I I.

This slit is arranged generally parallel to slot 9 and directly above the same. The upper slit is preferably formed without removing any material from the sheet, simply by cutting through the same with a die or knife, and forms a kind of dove-tailed -shaped tab I3 therein. i

Intermediate the slot and slit is shown a circular perforation I2. 1

'I'he slots and slits are referred to hereinafter as cuts, they both being formed by` cutting through the material of the sheet.

With the slots and slits illustrated, the user has merely to open the cover of a match book as indicated in Figure 3 and in the central posi.- tion in Figure 2, passing the upper or free end of the front cover I4, while holding the book with the matches toward him, through the slot SI to the side of the sheet remote from him, and then back through slit I0, after which he moves the entire cover upwardly so that the back co-ver .I underlies the part of the sheet between slot Il and slit I0, and the matches i5 overlie the front ,of this portion of the sheet, after which he folds cover I4 down, tucking its end inside the flap Il in the manner in which it is ordinarily folded, as indicated in Figure 2. With the parts in this position, thefront part of the cover I4 may be viewed from the front side of the page 5, while the rear cover I5 may be viewed by merely turning over this page.

The tab I3 during this folding process is ben slightly outwardly, as indicated in Figure 4,

rbut not sufficiently to crease or fold the same,

-aided bythe resiliency of the lower part of cover` I5 and the matches i6, or the stubs if matches have been removed, pressing upon the sides of sheet 5. 1

Due to the curved shape of the central part of slot I0, if the page 5 is slightly bent or warped upon the insertion of the cover, the tab I3 is raised or sprung above the adjacent portion of the sheet, making easy the passing of the edge of cover I4 therethrough, as most clearly illus;- trated in Figure 3. y 1

The insertion of this cover is further aided by the use of a plain sheet of paper or the like I9 which may be slipped between the pages of the album to prevent the covers from passing through more than one page as they are inserted, and the raising of the page by the insertion of cover I4 in slot 9 is suflicient to open slot I0 for each of the books as they are put in place, it being unnecessary for the user to reach behind the page and press these ends through.

Apertures I2 permit the viewing of the inside of the back part I5 of the cover after the same is in place, merely by raising the matches which overlie this aperture, if there be any within the match book, so that in series of match books which differ only as to printing within their covers, the different types may be readily determined.

If it is desired to display the matches within the match book, rather than the front cover thereof, this cover may be tucked in behind the matches, as shown in Figure 4. However, even though the matches of an entire page of the album are exposed, it will be apparent that these cannot come in contact' with the lpyrophoric material on flap I'I of any of the other match books, but can contact only the back or lower cover parts I5 of the books on the preceding page.

In Figure 5 is illustrated a manner in which a match book cover which has previously been fiattened out after the removal of the staple 20, originally holding it, and the matches I6, may be displayed with the album page above described.

Such an arrangement is mainly important in `the re-mounting of specimens which have been previously mounted in a flattened condition in the manner in which some collectors have heretofore kept such specimens. In this instance, the cover of the match book (I 4 and I5) is inserted in the usual manner. A strip of adhesive tape 2I is folded upon itself with its adhesive side out and secured to the edge of cover Id, and over this is pressed flap I'I which is thus caused to adhere to the tape and held by it to cover I4, presenting practically the same appearance as do complete match books which are inserted in the page.

The material of which the pages are composed is preferably of moderately stii paper with a rough surface which will increase the fricticnal retention of the articles.

While in the above description, reference has frequently been made to pages such as shown in the'album of Figure 1, the word"page is meant to include both sheets which are bound into a book and sheets which are separate therefrom, or which are incorporated in some other structure, and it will be understood that' thev word page, both as used in the specicationand claims, indicates merely a piece of sheet material, and is not limited to such a piece of material which is bound between covers.

While I have described the illustrated embodiment of my invention in some particularity, obviously many other embodiments, variations, and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art to whichmy invention appertains, and I therefore do not limit myself to the precise details shown and described, but claim as my invention all embodiments, variations, and modifications coming within the scope of the appended claim a I claim:

A match book displaying page of flexible sheet material having a slot and a slit therein arranged to receive a folded match'book, the slot being of substantial width to receive the stapled portion of a match book, and arranged to bear upon the interior of the match book at both sides of said staple, the slit dening a tab so spaced from the slot that the greatest distance between the slot and slit is greater than the internal dimension of a folded match book, while the distance between the side edges of the tab and slot are less than said dimension, whereby when a folded match book is passed through said slot and slit and folded the tab will be bent toward the slot to cause pressure urging the matchv book into engagement with the page at the sides of the slot. v

HARRY w. TUCKER. 

